Improvement in exercising apparatus



A. WAHL; h Exercising-Apparatus. N0.157,467. I I Patented Dec. 8,1874.

THE GRAPHlCCQPFOTO-LITH 358 $1 PARK PLACE-NJ,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT WAHL, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN EXERCISING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 157,467, dated December 8, 1874} application filed October 16, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT WAHL, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, in the State of Wisconsin,have invented certain 1mprovements in BackStraighteners, of which the following is a specification:

My invention is of that class provided for gymnastic exercises to straighten the back, expand the chest, and make the back limber. It is a machine with an upright post, with a cross-rest on its top, and a slanting beam with a cross-piece on the end of it, and a brace out from the upright part to hold it in position, so that a party who desires to use the machine leans his or her back against thetop of the upright post, and takes hold of the cross-bar on the end of the slanting beam, and straightens the back by drawing himself or herself back and over the upright post.

Figure 1 is a view of the machine.

A is the upright post; B, the slanting beam C, the platform, to which the upright post is attached. This platform may be fastened to the floor. D, the brace out from the upright post, which sustains the slanting beam in position; E, a joint of the brace D, connecting it to the upright post; F, a joint of the brace, and connecting it with the slanting beam 1, joint at the upright A, connecting the lower end of the slanting beam with it G, the rest on the top of upright post A; H, the crosspiece for the hands to take hold of on the end of the slanting beam B.

The operation of this machine is as follows: It is, in the first place, adjusted with the joints F and the joint I, so as to have the slanting beam out the right distance for the straightening the back, either near the shoulders or farther down, and the person who desires to use the machine will stand with the back toward the upright post and bend backward over that, and take hold of the cross -bar on the end of the slanting beam, and draw the back backward and forward over the upright or he may stand in front of the slanting beam, and take hold of the cross-bar on the top of the slanting beam, and bend over it and put his head on a rest, which has been previously placed in the joint F, and turn himself over onto the upright, and the motion in either way will straighten the back, expand the chest, and limber the back.

I claim- The improved exercising apparatus herein described, composed of the upright post A, slanting and adjustable beam B, and pivoted brace D, substantially as set forth.

ALBERT WAHL. Witnesses:

J. B. SMITH, CHAS. FINK. 

